What is the SOLO Taxonomy?Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes
(Biggs and Collis 1982)
SOLO provides a simple systematic way of describing how a learner's performance grows in complexity when mastering any academic task (Biggs 1999, p37).
SOLO describes five levels of student understanding when encountering new learning.
Prestructural - The student response shows they have missed the point of the new learning.
Unistructural - The learning outcome shows one aspect of the task, but this understanding is limited.
Multistructural - Several aspects of the task are understood but their relationships to each other and the whole are missed.
Relational - The ideas are linked, and provide a coherent understanding of the whole.
Extended Abstract - Understanding at the relational level is re-thought at another level, and used as the basis for prediction, generalisation, reflection or creation of new understanding.
The different SOLO levels represent:
an increase in understanding or knowing more (unistructural to multistructural outcomes).
a deepening understanding (multistructural to relational to extended abstract outcomes).
There are ten visual maps coded against student learning outcomes in SOLO Taxonomy, with associated SOLO coded self-assessment rubrics. The HOT Language of Learning maps help students understand the process of (or how to) define, describe, sequence, classify, compare and contrast, causal explanation, part whole analysis, analogy, generalise, predict and evaluate.
When planning for student learning at Sunnybrae we will ask the following four questions from (Wiske's 1998) framework for the logic of "teaching for understanding".
What is worthy of understanding?
What should students know, understand, and be able to do?
How can we enhance student understanding?
How can we determine what students understand?
Sunnybrae learners will be encouraged to learn how to learn and be able to answer the following questions.
(Biggs and Collis 1982)
SOLO describes five levels of student understanding when encountering new learning.
Prestructural - The student response shows they have missed the point of the new learning.
Unistructural - The learning outcome shows one aspect of the task, but this understanding is limited.
Multistructural - Several aspects of the task are understood but their relationships to each other and the whole are missed.
Relational - The ideas are linked, and provide a coherent understanding of the whole.
Extended Abstract - Understanding at the relational level is re-thought at another level, and used as the basis for prediction, generalisation, reflection or creation of new understanding.
The different SOLO levels represent:
There are ten visual maps coded against student learning outcomes in SOLO Taxonomy, with associated SOLO coded self-assessment rubrics. The HOT Language of Learning maps help students understand the process of (or how to) define, describe, sequence, classify, compare and contrast, causal explanation, part whole analysis, analogy, generalise, predict and evaluate.
When planning for student learning at Sunnybrae we will ask the following four questions from (Wiske's 1998) framework for the logic of "teaching for understanding".
Sunnybrae learners will be encouraged to learn how to learn and be able to answer the following questions.
- How do I know what I am learning?
- How do I know how well I am learning?
- How do I know what to do next in my learning?
For further information on SOLO - http://pamhook.com/